Calyxt, Inc., a Minnesota-based company focusing on developing healthier food products, announced that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with Plant Bioscience Limited (PBL) for a bread wheat trait generated using gene editing.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony in Filer, Idaho, marked the grand opening of Monsanto’s Wheat Technology Center, which will serve as the company’s core U.S. wheat breeding R&D facility and bring together people and processes to drive innovation in wheat breeding.

Kansas is hosting an unwanted traveler this year – wheat flag smut has made its way into the state’s wheat fields for the first time since the 1930s. The fungal disease poses no threat to humans or animals and has no effect on grain quality, but can reduce yields.

Although scab was not widespread in Ohio this year, there were a few pockets with high levels of the disease in some parts of the state. In addition, persistent rainfall over the last several weeks has caused producers to be concerned about grain quality even in fields without high levels of scab. One of the main questions being asked is whether scab will affect the quality of the wheat seed this fall.

Planting winter wheat is probably not a priority right now. However, for those that had prevented plant acres that are considering establishing a residue crop, now is the time to act. There are a number of reasons why growing winter wheat can be a good choice particularly for land not planted this spring. However, as the past few winters have shown, winter injury can be a serious constraint to its production.